Previous
Style
Definition of Tone
The tone of a piece of writing is its general character or attitude, which might be cheerful or depressive, sarcastic or sincere, comical or mournful, praising or critical, and so on. For instance... read full definition
The tone of a piece of writing is its general character or attitude, which might be cheerful or depressive, sarcastic or sincere, comical or mournful, praising or critical... read full definition
The tone of a piece of writing is its general character or attitude, which might be cheerful or depressive, sarcastic or sincere, comical... read full definition
Chapter 7
Explanation and Analysis:
The tone of Night by Elie Wiesel is dejected, truthful, and conflicted. The tone throughout the memoir is not one of hope. As the story continues, the plot exudes less and less emotion, as Eliezer himself becomes colder and more removed. Eliezer does not endure his Holocaust experience with faith that he is going to get out alive, hope that his father is going to live, or trust that anyone will save him. He contemplates death many times. He even explicitly denies having a reason to live any longer:
Suddenly, the evidence overwhelmed me: there was no longer any reason to live, any reason to fight.
With the constant presence of death, whether in reality or desire, the tone is hopeless. But it is also truthful in its omniscience—the story is an autobiographical memoir of a certain year in Eliezer’s life. And yet, Eliezer is narrating the story with future knowledge. He attempts to remember his thoughts from the most shameful to the most hopeful and everything in between. Having survived unspeakable horrors, Eliezer approaches the story with honesty toward himself. He admits his darkest feelings and realizes all of his mistakes along the way.
The tone is also conflicted, particularly in how Eliezer internally fights against his faith in God, eventually letting his belief die altogether in the face of such atrocity. Eliezer also fights internally against his darkest desires: to die himself and for his father to die so that they may end their suffering.
Related Themes:
